The Richard L. Lissner Collection

Record prices achieved by the sale of the Richard L. Lissner Collection

Record prices were achieved by the sale of “The Richard L. Lissner Collection – The Collection of an American Connoisseur” on 1-2 August 2014, held at the Chicago Marriott O’Hare, just prior to the annual summer convention of the American Numismatic Association in Rosemont, Illinois. The total of prices realized was $5,779,885 (excluding the 21% buyer’s fee) against the presale estimate/starting prices of $2,399,380, with 100% of the 2183 lots sold.The auction of the Lissner collection, conducted jointly by St. James’s Auctions, LLC (Knightsbridge Coins), of London, England, and Classical Numismatic Group, Inc., of Lancaster, Pennsylvania and London, England, with cataloging by M. Louis Teller Numismatic Company of Encino, California, was deemed a “huge success” by the principals of all three firms.

… and Costa Rica and Venezuela from the second day’s auction of the “New World” were nothing short of astounding.“This was without a doubt the most exciting sale that we have ever had. With most coins fetching world record prices, this shows what happens when fresh coins hit the market, it shows the market is very strong,” commented Stephen Fenton, Director of St. James's Auctions.Mark Teller, principal cataloguer of the sale, and a life-long friend of Richard Lissner, stated: “The auction went beyond any of our expectations. Although one or two coins fell short of what we had anticipated, the vast majority left us awestruck by their results. Literally, many hundreds of coins brought world-record prices.”

Victor England, U.S. Director at Classical Numismatic Group added: “When an important collection is brought to market and it is presented with great photographs and conservative estimates, the results are usually outstanding. The sale of the Lissner collection helped illustrate this important point.”The quality of the Lissner collection was evident throughout the sale of 2183 lots, which included the large lots of multiple coins. This was one of the individual highlights: